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by Dave B. Roberts

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Ax facts & Stats vol. 43: SHINEDOWN's Jasin Todd

In this installment of Ax Facts & Stats, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jasin Todd, the lead guitarist for one of my all-time favorite bands Shinedown. As a writer, guitarist and concert photographer, I have had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing many great artists as well as attending and photographing countless shows. Most often I find myself observing the event through the viewfinder of a camera. Rarely do I come across a band so gripping that I truly get lost in the raw power, stage presence and intense passion radiating from their music as I have with Shinedown. It’s bands like Shinedown that I become so in awe and mesmerized that I find myself forfeiting the camera to observe the show as a true admirer. At my first Shinedown experience, the house was packed and I was ducked down in the photo pit awaiting the band the band that Van Halen deemed worthy enough to support them during their 2004 tour. Out comes lead singer Brent Smith yielding a megaphone heading right at me belting out a show starting battle cry (right in my ear I might add) and the show went full force from there and continued to rock the hell out of the house until their last note. The show was mind-blowing. The entire performance was a commanding, heartfelt hard rock musical excursion at it’s best and the music is some of the best-written meaningful rock that I have experienced to date. I attended several other Shinedown performances since, and equally impressed with each one. So you can imagine my delight when Jasin took time out of his extensive touring schedule in support of Shinedown’s Us and Them album to take part in the interview. Now let’s get this thing going!

My name is:

Strykyr

Describe yourself in 5 words:

Big 'Ole Piece of Sh*t

My current job is:

Fiddle Player---First Chair

My hometown:

Lake City, Fl

My current album or project is:

Us & Them, latest album

Former bands:

Only one, NEFARION

My guitar influences growing up were:

Jimmy Page, Gary Rossington, Chris Holmes

The guitars I use are:

Gibson Guitars, various, mainly Les Paul Standard

The strings and tunings I use are:

Whatever Freddy, my trusty tech throws on there. I'd have to ask Freddy...mainly the Russian Flute Tuning of LOVE.

My current rig setup consists of:

Diezel Amps, Splawn amps, run in BIG MONO. Octave, delay, tube rotosphere, fuzz, etc. etc.

The greatest invention for guitars is:

Gibson Guitars, Diezel Amps and Vodka.

My normal songwriting process consists of:

Brent and I, sitting in hotel room with a couple of acoustic guitars, feeding off the idea.

My favorite all time guitar solo is:

Machine Gun---Band of Gypsys.

My favorite Shinedown song is:

Don't think twice it's alright.

My favorite all time song is:

45

My Career highlight thus far is:

Having the guys in Van Halen asking us if we would tour with them...ah, F*CK YEAH!!!!!

My most embarrassing moment on stage:

Anytime my rig hit's the sh*tter...f*cking sucks!!!

Other than my guitar, the one piece of my gear that I cannot live without is:

My Diezel VH4, people are starting to catch on...and they should.

The first song I ever mastered on guitar:

Still working on that one, I f*cking suck.

My first guitar was:

Pawn shop special, Telsco Del Ray something, something.

If I am only sure of one thing in life, It's:

Music can save lives.

The one ritual I always perform prior to going on stage is:

To make sure I hear a great classic R&B song, just to remind myself that I'm not even close...

The exact moment I knew I would pursue a career in music was:

At a very early age, the music nailed me down.

The one thing most fans don't know About me is:

That real R&B is the best music out there...Otis, Mrs. Franklin, Mrs. Etta, Brother Ray...you get the idea. I hope.

The best advice I could give beginning guitarists:

Never Quit

CD(s) I'm listening to right now:

Silvertide, Flyleaf, Halestorm

My 3 all-time favorite albums:

Led Zepplin-All, Lynyrd Skynyrd-All, Tom Waits-All

Best gig:

Everyday that the kids show up ready to roll, is a good day.

Favorite junk food:

Dinty Moore

My biggest pet peeve:

Smelly Pus

The word or catch phrase I say too much is:

And you will and you should and your gonna

The hardest part of my job:

If your lucky enough to play music for a living, life is good, so don't be a whiny f*ck band douche!!!

The first thing I do when I come home from touring is:

Kiss my family

Previous or first day job:

Raking the Leaves.

Right after this interview I'm going to:

Finish my Beer.

I couldn't imagine being on the road without:

A great Band and Crew...ah, and Vodka!

If I wasn't doing the musician thing, I could really see myself working as:

Sound engineering.

Favorite movie:

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest.

My mission in life:

To get through it happy and alive.

My guilty pleasure:

I indulge in all of life's fruit; don't feel guilty about any of it.

My first band was:

A big pile of sh*t, but man did we f*cking rock!!!

My next major step is:

To put one foot in front of the other and move on.

The greatest contribution guitars have brought into my life is:

The feelings of trying to get to that special place that is indeed, a secret.

Check out our Website at:

Shinedown.com

The one musician I would love to work with that I have not yet had the chance would be:

Jimmy Page

If I could have three wishes, they would be:

Every show would go off without a glitch, never ending supply of the best Vodka, that my kids won't wanna live this way.

When it's all said and done, I want the world to remember me for:

just that I left everything thing up there. Every f*cking night!!!!!

Copyright 2006 Dave B. Roberts & www.extremeguitars.com is the web home of articles and interviews written by Dave Roberts. All Dave Roberts interviews & articles are available for use or FREE reprint ONLY by Permission and proper credits. Permission can be obtained by contacting dave@extremeguitars.com. All materials are Copyright 2004 Dave Roberts and Oceanbreeze Ent., All Rights Reserved.

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